13 April 2014  Welcoming today's announcement of the first batch of results in Afghanistan's Presidential elections as a further step towards completing the electoral process, the United Nations Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA) has noted that these results represent only a small proportion of the millions of ballots cast in the poll.

The announcement made by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) is based on the tally of 10 per cent of the results from 26 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces one week after the 5 April election, a real logistical achievement, according to the Mission.

"While today's release of partial results is a welcome step in the process, it only provides a first snapshot that will regularly be updated by the IEC until all result forms from every polling station have been tabulated and verified,” said UNAMA chief, Ján Kubiš, in a statement issued from the Afghan capital, Kabul.

“Until the final results are announced by the IEC, stakeholders should be careful in drawing premature conclusions so as not to create inaccurate expectations," he said.

Mr. Kubiš also urged presidential candidates and their supporters to display patience while vote tallying is completed.

UNAMA says that full preliminary results covering the entire country are scheduled to be announced by the IEC on 24 April.

Following that, the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) will adjudicate complaints regarding the preliminary results. Only after the adjudication of these complaints is completed will the IEC announce the final results, scheduled to take place on 14 May.

Reiterating that under Afghan law, the IEC and the Complaints Commission are responsible for the management, adjudication and release of official results from the elections, and he called on all stakeholders to respect these institutions' independence and mandated authority as they complete this important task.